Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Text, Vivian G. Kelly with Contributions by Laura C. Wood
Runway Images, Dan Lecca, courtesy of Mercedes Benz
Images of Humanitarian Green After Party from
www.napkinnights.com
@6:00pm, THE GREEN INITIATIVE HUMANITAN FASHION SHOW
Stage 1, Smashbox Studios
We were greeted by calming aromatherapy wafting around the tent – our first relaxing moment of the day. The catwalk was ringed with bamboo shoots setting the green them. Festive salsa music added to the laid-back pre-show vibe.
The Show was sponsored by: Aveda, Surface Magazine, and Sea Bags.
The crew at SEA BAGS put some attractive gift tote bags on our seats made out of recycled sails. The fun began when M THE MOVEMENT sent out break-dancers. Dancer Dominic Carter in particular, put on a fantastic show, which continued throughout, and at the after party. Some of the models performed a few moves at the end of the runway to the delight of the photo pit.
As for the clothes, they looked stylish and right for the young urban guy. This earth friendly line is more hip-hop than hippie. Creative Director, M, is on to a good thing.
www.mthemovement.com
www.seabags.com
LADY MUSE: designer Mathilda, rescues fabrics that have been made but never used and would otherwise end up in a landfill.
Her Goal: To inspire women “to reconnect with who they are.”
This collection featured ornate floral tapestry fabrics cut into double-breasted officer coats for the men and coats and dresses with oversize cuffs for women. We liked the baroque purple and gold floral paisley patterned dress. The coats looked good worn with both boot cut pants or leggings as shown.
Retail prices range from $650 - @2,000. Each garment is one of a kind and comes with a booklet that explains its story.
www.ladymuse.com
ANDIRA Rain Tees:
A gorgeous wild haired tot opened the show in one of the hand drawn tee shirts. The pictures are drawn by children and put on earth friendly tee shirts. Tee shirt sales go back to support rainforest causes.
www.andiraintl.com
LILIKOI opened with a pair of Polynesian dancers baring coconut shell bikini tops, seed pearl necklaces and grass skirts. The clothes that followed were contrastingly well suited to going to work. The dresses are fantastic for travel as a lilikoi fan we met at the after party attested. She was wearing one of their dresses, after having rolled it up and thrown it into her suitcase. To her surprise, it emerged, wrinkle-free!We especially liked the easy v-neck jersey dress worn with black leggings and court shoes. For lounging at home, there’s a charcoal gray batwing mini dress and for evening, the red sleeveless dress was a winner.
www.lilikoiclothing.com
VINTAGE CHINA ‘s design duo opened with 2 Chinese dancers performing a scarf dance while wearing cute red jersey jumpsuits. Among the jeans and casual shirts shown, were a terrific men’s shirt with a traditional Chinese line drawing and a hooded sweatshirt. For the women, the sharply cut jean jacket with rhinestone Chinese characters was a standout.
www.TheGalleryLA.com
RENE GENEVA DESIGN opted for contemporary dance. A beautiful female dancer clad in a comfy looking ruched black dress started things off.
Best: the black bell sleeve coat dress with a pink sorbet lining and corset belt.
@ 9PM - THE HUMANITARIAN GREEN AFTER PARTY AT FRED SEGAL
The fun continued at the Fred Segal Mauro Café. The live drummer who played at the show stepped up the beat and the break-dancers came along and continued their crowd-pleasing performance.
We enjoyed VeeV cocktails made with lemonade and ginger ale. VeeV is a new vodka made out of Acai, an exotic tasting Brazilian national fruit loaded with antioxidants that would hopefully waylay your hangover. VeeV donates $1 from every bottle sold to help protect and replenish the Amazonian Rainforest through its charitable partners Rainforest Action Network and Sambazon’s Sustainable Acai Project.
The fun relaxed atmosphere was a refreshing change from the typical after party. The Gallery LA’s Ros Basford, did a wonderful job.